Museum of Eretria

The Eretria Archaeological Museum was founded in 1960, but the current structure was expanded and renovated in 1989-1991 by the local Ephorate of Antiquities in collaboration with the Swiss School of Archaeology. The project was also funded by the latter.
The exhibits span all periods of antiquity and come from all over the world. The sculptures from the temple of Apollo Daphnephoros and the finds from the protogeometric cemeteries of Lefkandi and Eretria are among the most important.

Among the museum’s most important exhibits are:

• Lefkandi clay alabastron from the late Mycenaean period (1200-1000 BC). Griffins, roes, and deers are depicted on it.
• The Lefkandi “Kentaur” (950-900 BC). The clay protogeometric figurine was discovered broken in two pieces, each buried separately. It’s the earliest depiction of the mythical creature that’s half human, half horse.
• Isis and Horos pendant necklace made of faience beads (1050-900 BC). The necklace was discovered in the cemetery of Lekfandi, along with other valuable items imported from Cyprus and Phoenicia, confirming the interactions of Lefkandi, which is located in the Eretria region, with Cyprus and Phoenicia during the early historic period.
• Burial amphora (800-700 BC). It held the cremated remains of a child. This pot is a typical Euboean pottery workshop product in terms of shape and decoration.
• A funerary black-figure amphora from Eretria’s necropolis (560 BC). It depicts the battle between Herakles and the Kentaurs on one side, and the “Potnia Theron” (“Mistress of the Animals”), a Minoan deity who is thought to be a prodromic form of the goddess Artemis on the other.
• Theseus and Antiope’s pedimental sculptural complex from the Apollo Daphnephoros temple (510-500 BC). It depicts the abduction of Antiope, the queen of the Amazons, by Theseus, the legendary king and founder of Athens, and is one of the most important examples of the Late Archaic period. The goddess Athena, who was the central figure in the story, was also present, as were several fighting Amazons. The temple’s decoration is attributed to the Athenian sculptor Antenor, who is also responsible for one of the most famous Kore statues in the Acropolis museum, the “Antenor Kore.”
• A Panathenaic amphora (363-62 BC) discovered in Eretria during the excavation of a house. The winners of the Panathenaic Games received these large vessels filled with oil as prizes. They had a typical pictorial decoration, with the armed goddess Athena on the main side and the sport in which the awarded athlete had triumphed – in the case of the Eretria amphora wrestling – on the back side.
• Terracotta Gorgoneion (380-323 BC), an ornamental element from Eretria’s “House of Mosaics.” Gorgoneion was a representation of Medusa Gorgo’s head, a mythical creature whose image was thought to ward off evil in classical antiquity.
• Epinetron with black figures depicting a symposium scene from Amarynthos (end of the 6th century BC). The epinetron, one of the most unusual pottery shapes, was worn over the thigh while wool was being prepared for weaving.